Your editorial page on 21 November 2008 reflected a lack of diverse opinion. Such negative responses to the core curriculum – that it deteriorates grades, restricts graduation, reduces alternative course work and does not allow for early specialization – reflect a troublesome attitude toward the goals of a liberal arts education. Our intent in writing this letter is to represent the positive aspects of the current core requirements that were not represented on the editorial page.

First, a liberal arts education requires a curriculum model like our current system. The purpose of a liberal arts education is to introduce students to a variety of topics that are normally not encountered in a specialized education. Therefore, to request such changes in the core, such as reducing its size or eliminating some of the requirements, is to miss the point or forget the very reason for the core’s existence.

To say that the core negatively affects one’s GPA is not only an affront to the ideal of a liberal arts education, but also an affront to the ideal of education itself. Education is supposed to be challenging, and it is supposed to push the student in all areas of learning, not only those at which the student excels.

The statement in the editorial that “the core reflects faculty turf wars to get more students into classes of certain departments” is unwarranted. There is little support in the article, or in reality, that this argument is true. In fact, the opposite is the case: the core serves to represent all departments, and these departments and disciplines represent skills and areas of study that the college deems important and necessary for a well-rounded education.

One of the most positive aspects of a liberal arts education is the exposure it provides to various disciplines. Creighton’s core curriculum pushes students to examine traditionally unexplored fields that may be of interest. Some of these less frequently studied subjects can be areas of great passion and energy for the student who engages them.

There needs to be more recognition of the positive elements of the core curriculum. A well-rounded education emphasizes study in several areas, the sciences, humanities, and arts, and it is a privilege to receive such an education. This position should be recognized as well.

Curtis Bankers, Arts & Sciences junior

Dan Meyer, Arts & Sciences junior

Anthony Schlimgen, Arts & Sciences sophomore